Saturday, May 22, 2010

The Sallee Rovers -- now in ebook!


The Sallee Rovers

The Sallee Rovers

By: M. Kei | Other books by M. Kei
Published By: Bristlecone Pine Press
ISBN # 978-1-60722-017-6

Word Count: 115514
Heat Index

Available in: Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Reader, Epub

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Click here for the print version

About the book

Lieutenant Peter Thorton of the 18th century British navy must struggle to come out gay while surviving storms at sea, ship-to-ship battles, duels, kidnapping, and more in his quest for true love and honor. The Sallee Rovers, Book One of The Pirates of the Narrow Seas Trilogy is an expertly crafted swashbuckler brimming with authentic detail and fully realized portraits of life at sea, written by a tall ship sailor and internationally acclaimed poet.

An excerpt from the book

A couple of minutes later Foster came limping back up to the poop. “MacDonald says to tell you he’s astonished, but the forward bulkhead is holding. He took a measure of the middle bilge and has got three feet of water, sir.”

Maynard came up before Thorton could answer. The boy saluted, “Cap’n Tangle says to thank you, sir, but it won’t be convenient for him to come up until the irons are off.”

The slaves were busy rowing. They had given up trying to free themselves for the moment. With the frigate nowhere near there was no hope of rescue but their own strong backs.

“Who has the key?”

“I don’t know, sir.”

“Mr. Maynard. You are to find that key and take it to Mr. Tangle. Unlock him. Tell him to select a reliable man and send him round to unlock the other chains. Then return the key to me.”

“Aye aye, sir.” Maynard ran down again.

Maynard had lost his sou’wester and his blond curls were limp and plastered to his head. Still, with all the naked men aboard, it was very easy to spot the midshipman. Thorton watched Maynard free the tall Turk, who then handed the keys to the man in the next bench. The vessel was still pitching and rolling so that the men had to struggle to throw themselves onto their oars and fall back at the proper time to pull. This was a galley; men did not sit and scull like a rowboat on a lake: they put their whole bodies into it and used their weight and legs as much as their backs and arms.

Thorton’s knees were flexing like organ peddles, one rising as the other fell. His right leg was straight while his left was bent, then his left straightened while the right bent. It was like marching, but his feet never left the heaving deck and he never went anywhere. He was pleased to discover he was not seasick. He felt very proud of himself for that, then excited as he realized his situation. How many Englishmen had commanded a galley for even a short time on a doomed exercise? The news about the bulkhead cheered him; he might not sink. The Spanish had panicked and abandoned ship prematurely. His first independent command! His heart was joyful. He squared his shoulders and wished he had a spot of tea. He might feel positively celebratory if he weren’t so cold and wet.

The gale settled down to a good hard blow. The thunder gave up booming. The rain came down cold and steady. The galley wallowed as she was, wave after wave sweeping over her bow and washing her waist. Then a matted and sodden tangle of black hair appeared at the top of the windward stairs, followed by a gaunt brown face containing hollow eyes and a hooked nose. Next came a neck corded with tendons and a matted beard with a white streak in the middle. It did not cover a chest of broad shoulders with small dark nipples barely distinguishable from the mahogany skin. Far more noticeable was an ugly pinkish-tan scar the size of a hand that blotched the upper chest from clavicle to the right armpit. Powerful pectoral muscles were attached to chiseled abdominals that would have been admirable if they weren’t sunk so near to the spine that supported this bag of bones. Hair on the chest and arms did little to obscure the figure. Bony knees connected to well-defined calves and narrow ! ankles. The feet were almost comically large compared to the emaciated flesh. The frame was there to support a goodly physique two inches over a fathom high, but Spanish captivity had wasted the flesh. Thus the man called ‘Captain Tangle’ came on deck, water sluicing down his skinny shanks. Thorton avoided looking at the dangling genitalia, although it was hard to pretend that they weren’t there.

The creature—for it was hard to think such an apparition was a man, in spite of its form—saluted. Thorton saluted back. A baritone voice that once might have been melodious rasped out, “Isam bin Hamet al-Tangueli reporting, sir.” He spoke excellent Spanish, much to Thorton’s relief.

“Mr. Issa, ah, bin-um, tan-tangle,” Thorton stumbled over the Arabic syllables. He switched to Spanish. “Thank you for your good work.”

“Thank you, sir,” Tangle replied in the same language. He studied the English lieutenant. The body might belong to a filthy animal, but a cool intelligence gleamed in those brown eyes. He was quite composed for a galley slave who had nearly sunk, been abandoned to die by his masters, rescued by his own wits and God’s good fortune, and not yet certain of survival.

Thorton, who had felt himself to be in charge of the galley, was seized by a strange insecurity. “You are an experienced galley hand, Mr. Tangle?” he asked timidly.

Lips so thin as to barely deserve the name cracked into a wan smile. “I am, but I prefer a xebec.”

Thorton noticed he had omitted the ‘sir’ that British protocol required. Thorton also realized that should Tangle decide to take command, there was very little three Englishmen could do about it. Foster was standing near, but he was standing nearer to Tangle than to Thorton, which was evidence of where his loyalties lay. Thorton decided not to mention the omitted ‘sir.’ He did not want to pick a fight he was not certain he would win.

“Your advice regarding the handling of the vessel will be appreciated, Mr. Tangle,” he told the man.

Was that amusement in the Turk’s eyes? His expression didn’t change, but he replied drily, “It was good of you to give the ship to us, and even kinder for you to accompany us on our journey.”

Thorton stiffened. “We will make for Correaux, Mr. Tangle. It shouldn’t take more than three days to get there.”

“As long as you don’t meet the rest of the Spanish squadron and can get the bow up, I agree. Have you ever commanded a lateen-rigged vessel, Mr. Thorton?”

Thorton never had, but he refused to be bested. He changed tactics, “Are you a Turk, mister?”

“I am. A Sallee Turk, but a Turk all the same. Why do you ask?”

“Because the Ottoman Empire has a treaty with England that requires us to succor one another’s seamen when they are in peril at sea. Thus, at the risk of my own life, I have saved yours. It would be ungrateful for you to turn pirate and steal this ship away. Either she belongs to the Spanish, poltroons that they are, or to her rescuer, the English. She does not belong to the men on board, no matter how much they might long for revenge on the Spanish.”

Tangle played his trump. “I am Kapitan Pasha of the corsairs of Zokhara, and the Sallee Republic is at war with Spain. She is lawful spoils for me. I appreciate your kind assistance, so I will be happy to set you ashore where convenient, but since there is no treaty between my country and yours, I have no obligation to you.”

“There may not be a public agreement, but I think there is a private one,” Thorton countered. “It is the duty of His Britannic Majesty’s frigate Ajax to convey His Excellency Mr. Achmed bin Mamoud, envoy for the Sallee Republic to England, to his choice of ports in France. He carries a document to submit to the Dey in Zokhara for approval. I would hate to jeopardize the growing amity between our two nations by a premature bout of looting.”

Tangle’s forehead wrinkled as he absorbed the import of that. A louse crawled out of the white streak in his beard onto his lip and he brushed it away with his hand. Thorton took a step back. Now that the wind was dying the galley’s stench lingered. So did Tangle’s. The expression on Thorton’s face reminded Tangle that he was naked and filthy. He had been that way for so long he had ceased to notice. He looked down at himself, then down at the waist of the vessel where his comrades were still plying their oars. He rubbed his nasty beard in thought. Then he spoke.

“I have galley fever, Mr. Thorton. My days are numbered. What happens to me doesn’t matter, but what happens to these other men matters very much. Once their chains are struck, not one of them will endure having them replaced. We will die rather than submit.”

Thorton didn’t know what galley fever was, but he knew that men condemned to the galleys wasted away until they died at their oars. It took about two years—if a man had been strong and healthy to begin with. He said firmly, “The only submission I ask is what a free man may honorably give to another. I ask for the safety of the ship, good order, and a landfall at Correaux.”

“What happens if we meet your English master and his Spanish guests?”

Thorton shrugged. “That is not under my control, Mr. Tangle. I can give you no surety but for my own deeds.”

“Your concerns have been duly noted, Mr. Thorton.” Tangle turned to watch the men at work. He clasped his hands behind his back with his legs well braced. His pose was very much that of a captain at his post.

Thorton would not yield the point and stood beside him to gaze down into the waist. He also clasped his hands behind his back—the habitual pose of a man who had learnt not to put his hands in his pockets. He was accounted a tallish man among the English, but he was short of Tangle’s height in spite of wearing shoes when the Turk was barefoot. He could not help noticing the contrast. Thorton was properly dressed but Tangle wore his nakedness like ermine and velvet. The Englishman’s face was a coppery color because of the sun, but Tangle was a deep mahogany all over, including places where it was improper for a man to be tanned. The Turk was so hollow he looked like he must fail to carry his own weight and cave in, but he stood as erect as any English captain. Down below the men looked up at Tangle and their hearts cheered. They paid no particular attention to Thorton. It was Tangle they looked to for leadership and him they willingly obeyed. Slowly it dawned on Thorton that h! e had never had command of the galley and never would.


Wednesday, May 19, 2010

"a book which can stand comparison with C. S. Forester's Hornblower series"

Just a quick note--I'm briefly ashore and have a ton of things to do before going back to sea, so this won't be a full-fledged press release.

Men of Honor, the second book in the series, Pirates of the Narrow Seas, has been reviewed.

"M. Kei [...] has produced a book which can stand comparison with C. S. Forester's Hornblower series."

and

"The ample amounts of action keep the book moving fast and breathlessly onwards, and there are some real standout scenes of naval warfare. My favourite by far is the scene where the ships are being fought inside a cave. Wow! That was a corker."

—Alex Beecroft, author of False Colors.

Full review is at: http://speakitsname.com/2010/05/18/review-pirates-of-the-narrow-seas-ii-men-of-honor-by-m-kei

Thursday, May 13, 2010

The Perils of Self-Publishing

Long term readers of this site are probably aware of the trials and tribulations I have undergone in the attempt to publish Pirates of the Narrow Seas, but newcomers may be confused. To answer the recent question: This is the canonical site that will stay up-to-date and supercedes all other information.

Being a micropress, I have to do all my own publicity, and that means making use of all available means to blog, review, post, share, excerpt, promote, interview, etc. That can be confusing, but if you follow this blog you'll get the important information in a timely manner. (I also recommend subscribing to Keibooks-Announce (at) googlegroups (dot) com to receive email to your inbox. This announcement-only elist published 0-5 posts per month regarding my various literary projects.)


Pirates of the Narrow Seas series (aka 'PoNS')

Book One : The Sallee Rovers (PoNS 1)

This book was originally named 'Pirates of the Narrow Seas,' but people were confused that a book and the series had the same name, so I changed it to make it clear. Thus the book is officially: Pirates of the Narrow Seas, Book One : The Sallee Rovers. That's a mouthful, so most people just call it 'Pirates of the Narrow Seas.'

Versions:

Free online: the version on this site (tweaked to fix typos, but no revisions)
Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters. If you really, REALLY love me, you will send cash in untraceable bills to my post office box.
Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. This is not going as quickly as I had hoped, but I have signed off on the ebook proof, so soon?
Paperback: Amazon.com has declined to carry the series, so I have submitted to the Borg, I mean, Amazon.com, and submitted the book to their CreateSpace program in order to be able to sell it on Amazon.com. I am awaiting approval. Amazon.com only pays the author about half of what Lulu.com does, but half of something is better than all of nothing, so that's why I did it.

These versions are all the same novel, just in different formats from different sellers. Giant publishers take care of all of this stuff by themselves and the author doesn't have to worry about it and it's simpler for the reader, but giant publishers aren't interested in gay nautical fiction.

Fictionpress.com: I posted the rough draft to Fictionpress.com way back in the day when I had no thought of formally publishing it -- I just wanted people to read it and send feedback. I have left it for archival purposes and in the hopes that readers at Fictionpress.com will find their way to this site for the rest of the books.

If you are a big publishing company that wants to give me a five figure advance, please email: Keibooks (at) gmail (dot) com


Book Two : Men of Honor (PoNS 2)

Versions:

Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters

Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. Will be released this summer.

Book Three : Iron Men (PoNS 3)

Versions:

Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters
Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. Will be released this summer.


Book Four : Heart of Oak (PoNS 4)

Versions: Not yet contracted. I am going to see how the first three books do before deciding where and how to publish.

Under construction - anticipated to be available in time for Christmas. If you are a wealthy benefactor who can't wait that long, contact me.

Rumors of Hussars waltzing with naval officers during an earthquake refer to this novel. Why Hussars? See this link:


Random Excerpts

Miscellaneous excerpts are published at Goodreads.com, Astrodene's Historic Naval Fiction, the_macaronis elist, and random other locations. The excerpts are edited for brevity, so do not include all the details present in the same scene/chapter in the novels. They are teasers to entice the reader into reading the whole thing.


Promotions

Lulu.com has been having various promotions; when I become aware of them I post them to this site. During the summer of 2010, readers who purchase $20 or more can get free shipping on books through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- buy the whole series and get free shipping! That saves you some bucks. The nice thing is, Lulu.com is eating the cost and not deducting if from our author royalties. Yay!

Pirates of the Narrow Seas review by The Thrifty Reader

Pirates of the Narrow Seas - Gay Nautical Fiction from Keibooks and Bristlecone Pine Press - for Immediate Release -- please share with all appropriate forums

13 May 2010 Perryville, Maryland, USA

Pirates of the Narrows Seas, the trilogy of gay nautical novels by M. Kei, continues to garner positive reviews and enthusiastic fans. The latest review, by Ames, of The Thrifty Reader, was posted on May 12.

“The Spanish officers abandon ship and jump onto the Ajax. Meanwhile, they have almost 200 slaves chained to the ship who are going to die unless Peter and his men can help. It's the Christian thing to do, even if it is disobeying a direct order. And then Peter is stuck on a sinking ship! While he's in the midst of freeing the slaves! Can we say chaos? [ . . .] I really enjoyed The Sallee Rovers. Although the romance wasn't the main focus, I was really interested in all the nautical stuff. Think of the movie Master and Commander, but with two guys who sleep together. And I LOVED Master and Commander.”

Full review at

Pirates of the Narrow Seas trilogy by M. Kei

Book One : The Sallee Rovers

Lt. Peter Thorton of the 18th century British navy must struggle to come out gay while surviving storms at sea, ship to ship battles, duels, kidnapping, and more in his quest for true love and honor. Pirates of the Narrow Seas is an expertly crafted swashbuckler brimming with authentic detail and fully realized portraits of life at sea, written by a tall ship sailor and internationally acclaimed poet.

Winner of a Sweet Revolution Award for 'best full cast' and 'Judge's Pick'


Book Two : Men of Honor

Peter Thorton and his lover set out on a quest to rescue a captive duke who is the pretender to the throne of Portugal. Thorton is arrested and placed on trial for desertion and sodomy. Men of Honor continues the further adventures of a gay officer during the Age of Sail, replete with perils, excitement, and nautical detail.

Book One in the series was #1 on the Goodreads "Best Gay Multicultural Lovers' and 'Best Gay Nautical Fiction' lists


Book Three : Iron Men

Back in service with the British navy, Lt. Peter Thorton suffers misfortunes in love and war. Temporarily placed in charge of His Britannic Majesty's frigate Ajax, he is badly outnumbered by the vengeful Spanish and must fight his way free with the assistance of the dishonored HMS Resolute. On the way back to England he must ferret out mutiny and balance friendship against honor, only to be arrested once again, and face a final showdown with his old nemesis, Captain Bishop.

Order all three through Lulu.com and get free shipping!

Paperbacks by Keibooks
Ebooks by Bristlecone Pine Press


Keibooks
P O Box 1118
Elkton, MD 21922-1118
Keibooks (at) gmail (dot) com